Five years ago, Beckie Thompson and her husband took a vacation to Disney World with their five-year-old daughter Keira. Everywhere they went in the park, Keira was greeted and referred to as “Princess.” After hearing this one too many times, she exclaimed “Mommy, I don’t want to be a princess. I want to be a pilot.”

Over the next few years, Beckie gave a lot of thought to the wide-ranging implications of what Keira was expressing and began developing the idea of creating a business and movement.

Encouraging girls and women to be anything they want is at the heart of Beckie’s work. She asks: “Why don’t we describe a girl based on her abilities and interests rather than as a fictional princess character? We don’t do that with boys!”

“I wondered why somebody didn’t do anything and then I realized I am somebody.”